Government of Haiti Signs Security Agreement With Mercenary Boss Erik Prince

The Haitian government formalized an agreement with Erik Prince, founder of the mercenary organization Blackwater/Academi and a donor and ally of US President Donald Trump, to carry out security operations against armed groups besieging the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, according to a report by The New York Times (NYT).

Since March, Prince’s team has been operating drones that reportedly caused the death of more than 200 people in Haiti. However, there is no news about the capture of any “gang leaders.”

Prince’s plan is to recruit Haitian-American military veterans and deploy up to 150 mercenaries this summer. In addition, a large shipment of weapons is reportedly being sent from the United States to Haiti.

The Trump administration denies any involvement in this operation. Haitian authorities did not disclose the amount of the contract with Prince, and there is no public record of a US Defense export license. The lack of transparency fuels alarms about the real scope of this mercenary intervention.

According to reports, Prince is seeking to expand the contract to include ambits such as customs, tax collection, and other government services. If it comes to pass, this would imply a privatization of key state functions, giving the mercenary boss significant control within the Haitian de-facto government.

The current situation in Haiti is critical. The local police are overrun by armed groups, and non-UN security mission has failed to stabilize the country. Armed groups have taken over prisons, set fire to police stations, and the confrontations between these groups and the police have led to the displacement of a million people. The UN warns of the risk of the capital falling into the hands of armed groups.

Professional mercenary Erik Prince’s track record is marked by questionable military operations, including the 2007 Baghdad massacre by Blackwater contractors, for which it was accused of human rights violations during the US invasion of Iraq. Critics warn that Blackwater’s presence in Haiti could exacerbate violence and further destabilize the nation.

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The presence of military contractors in Haiti is shrouded in controversy, and the gravest example was the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse by Colombian mercenaries, hired by a US mercenary company, in 2021.

Rod Joseph, a Haitian-American veteran, revealed his conversations with Erik Prince about providing personnel, initially under apparent US approval, and then relying on the Haitian government. Prince planned to send Salvadoran soldiers and helicopters to combat the armed groups.

Prince’s mercenaries in Latin America
Recently, Prince was involved in security operations in Guayaquil, Ecuador, in the company of the ministers of the Interior and Defense of Daniel Noboa’s government. Last year, he launched the Ya casi Venezuela campaign, seeking to raise funds to attempt a mercenary-led coup against the government of Nicolás Maduro.

The vice president of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez, complained of a plot involving the US oil giant ExxonMobil, the president of Guyana, and Erik Prince to attack an oil platform in the Essequibo, with the aim of justifying military actions against Venezuela.

Prince currently operates as a “security consultant” for US allies in Latin America, associating with destabilization attempts against governments that Washington considers “adversaries.”

 

 

(Telesur)

Translation: Orinoco Tribune

OT/SC/JRE